Yesterday I went to the Conference on the Future of Housing Finance, held in DC, and hosted by the Treasury. Washington, DC this time of year can be brutally hot and humid - and yesterday was no exception - but the air conditioned conference rooms did little to keep me from getting hot around the collar over the temporizing and equivocating that went on.Read more

By John Walsh, President of Total Mortgage Services, LLCRead more

Overview

On August 6, 2010, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued Mortgagee Letter 2010-23, which announced the FHA Short Refinance program.

Available on September 7, 2010, the loan product will enable lenders to provide additional refinancing options to homeowners who owe more than their home is worth - or "underwater." The FHA Short Refinance will continue to be available until December 31, 2012.Read more

Your grandmother did it, and probably still does. Tom Hopkins & Brian Buffini built multimillion-dollar Real Estate businesses using them. Even books are written about them!Read more

Overview

On July 28, 2010, the federal agencies issued final rules requiring residential mortgage loan originators (MLO) who are employees of national and state banks, savings associations, Farm Credit System institutions, credit unions, and certain of their subsidiaries (agency-regulated institutions) to meet the registration requirements of the Secure and Fair Enforcement for Mortgage Licensing Act of 2008 (SAFE Act).Read more

Overview

In April 2010, Treasury and HUD issued a set of questions for public comment on the future of the housing finance system, which has received more than 300 responses from a broad cross-section of consumer groups, industry groups, market participants, members of the public, think tanks, and other stakeholders.Read more

I have a good friend of mine, James Barnes, an Austin, Texas-based mortgage professional who recently decided that he wanted free himself of his laptop and REALLY "work anywhere, anytime."Read more

Overview

Last week, we provided an outline of the continuing downward trend of the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) program, as reported in the most recent June Report, issued on July 20, 2010.Read more